WARNING: Town Meeting Fast Approaching
February 25, 2010, page 1
by Nancy Wood

Town Reports have arrived, dedicated “with much affection” to Hugh “Cowboy” Lewis who passed away on January 27, 2009. Cowboy warmly greeted voters at the door of Town Meetings for many years, keeping order in his role as Town Constable.

The Charlotte Town Report includes a wealth of information about the Town. It is read cover to cover by some, while others flip through quickly to check births and marriages, delinquent taxes and teachers’ salaries. For all, it is the manual to bring to Town Meeting in order to follow (or lead) the debate over the town budget and other articles on the Warning.

Actually, there are three warnings in the report:
first, to the legal voters of the town (page 5) to meet at the Charlotte Central School Multi-Purpose Room on Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at 9 a.m. to act upon articles not involving voting by Australian Ballot;
second, to the legal voters of the Charlotte Town School District (page 140) to meet at the same place at 1 p.m. to conduct the business of the school;
and third, to the voters of the CVU School District (page 168) to meet at 5 p.m. on Monday, March 1, at CVU in Hinesburg, reconvening at the Charlotte polls on Tuesday to vote on the $21,351,044 budget.

The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2, at CCS to vote by Australian ballot for town officers and school directors and on ballot questions, including the CCS $7,119,583 budget and the $1,200,000 purchase of the LeBoeuf property.

Note new law. A change to the Vermont Statutes in 2008 makes it legal to discuss Australian ballot issues when the article relating to them comes up during the meeting. (See 17 V.S.A. § 2640(c).) This would include the LeBoeuf purchase and the CCS budget, but not election of candidates.